by Charles
CNN reports that Bush has chosen Samuel Alito to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Given the nickname of Scalito, this will comfort conservatives and not go over well with many Senate Democrats, and it remains to be seen how the Gang of 14 will decide. Over the coming days, we're going to hear a lot about Planned Parenthood v. Casey (a conservative take here, and a better one here). Memeorandum has a pretty decent round-up. I don't have any nifty analysis. Just wanted to get it up on the board.
i am already sick of the phrases "up or down vote" and "advice and consent". i might just stick my head in the sand instead of subjecting myself to two more months of this nonsense.
he's going to be approved. the wingnut right will swoon over Alito's wingnuttery. the Gang of 14 will disintegrate. all those essays and nasty thoughts about Bush's stupidity w.r.t.Miers will be scrubbed. he'll be approved, but only after months of wailing by his supporters and detractors.
Posted by: cleek | October 31, 2005 at 10:34 AM
He'll be approved by the end of November, 62-38.
Anyone know if he loves the power of the executive?
Posted by: Ugh | October 31, 2005 at 10:39 AM
Oy veh. I don't look forward to a fight. Here's why: I disagree with the [i]Casey[/i] opinion, but I can already tell you it's not for the reasons that will be trumpeted by Alito's opposition. I can see the ads now: Alito says a woman has to get her abusive husband's permission before she can have an abortion! Hogwash.
And looking at a review of his cases on SCOTUSBlog (I linked to it in my blog post) I find that I agreed with him many times -- though those were times when he sided with the majority. In other words, he doesn't seem to be the extreme of the extremes -- ; just a consistently conservative justice. The time to deal with the fear of Bush nominating a strong conservative was Nov, 2004.
Of course, it's early, but I'd much rather be fighting about the gutting of environmental law, and about pork, and about Iraq, than about this. This was inevitable.
Posted by: Opus | October 31, 2005 at 10:44 AM
Ugh: I'm sure his 15-year stint on the 3rd Circuit will reveal that there are be no limits on police power or the discretion of the Executive to suspend the Constitution, just limits on civil rights plaintiffs and uteral decision-making. If you want specifics, go to Think Progress or a billion other sites.
Posted by: norbizness | October 31, 2005 at 10:57 AM
Ok, I would be up for a fight on the subject of executive privilege.
Posted by: Opus | October 31, 2005 at 11:06 AM
I am trying to remember those lefty bloggers who were certain a weakened Bush would nominate a moderate, but my memory fails. Or serves me well.
Posted by: bob mcmanus | October 31, 2005 at 11:56 AM
I've mocked Alito's dissent (against Chertoff!) in the "10-year-old-girl-strip-search" case at my humble (well, not really) blog--too long for comments. (May also appear at Tacitus, who knows.)
What? you've never heard of the case? Hist, hie ye to the talking points, sirrah!
Posted by: Anderson | October 31, 2005 at 12:16 PM
This is like watching a train wreck in slow motion...even those who blew up the bridge must feel somewhat horrified at what's to come.
The bridge is most definitely gone now though. There's no room for Bush to assert he's a uniter. That meme is dead.
Personally, I consider it an act of war against liberals. As unnecessary as Iraq, and probably doomed to be as bloody.
Posted by: Edward_ | October 31, 2005 at 12:57 PM
Evidence of the war that's to come is here (from a kos diary). Pretty, it ain't going to be:
Clearly something this outrageous deserves more context, so don't assume I'm agreeing with this interpretation. (here again is Anderson's attempt to flesh this out). I'm just pointing out that we're not about to see a replay of the Roberts confirmation.
Posted by: Edward_ | October 31, 2005 at 01:12 PM
This really puts the heat on more moderate Republicans, who are wondering how the 2006 elections will go, and gives Dems an opportunity to highlight just how radically right the Bush Republicans are.
Alito is extremely right wing with some nutty views thrown in. He is a classic example of a very activist and radical judge masquerading as a "conservative." If he is confirmed (highly likely), it will be at the expense of whatever shred of moderateness still exists in the Republican party.
His past decisions such as questioning Roe, strip searching kids, and invalidating the family leave act also create potent sound bites. This is the real significance of the nomination fight.
The Gang of 14 no longer exists after this "in-your face" pick by Bush, which is spitting in the eye of both Dems and whoever thinks of themselves as moderate in the Republican party.
Jsut another round of "bring it on."
Posted by: dmbeaster | October 31, 2005 at 01:33 PM
"There's no room for Bush to assert he's a uniter. That meme is dead."
Phooey. As long as he gets any one Democrat to vote for him (and possibly even if not), this meme will be trotted out whenever politically convenient. And it will be lapped up by the SCLM.
Posted by: Dantheman | October 31, 2005 at 01:37 PM
On Reason's Hit and Run blog, Julian Sanchez said this about the Strip Search decision:....
"looking over the opinion, it's not quite as bad as they're [Think Progress] making it sound here either. The disagreement here isn't over whether carrying out unauthorized strips searches as such violates the Fourth Amendment—if a judge thought that were permitted, it would surely be a dealbreaker. Instead, the opinions reveal a dispute over whether the officers had a good-faith belief that their request to search all occupants at the premises had been incorporated into the warrant. On the basis of my skim, I'm inclined to prefer the majority's take, but Alito's dissent isn't as awful or crazy as the precis above would suggest."
...He also analyzes some of the other decisions: http://www.reason.com/hitandrun/2005/10/wow_a_nominee_w.shtml#comments
Objective analysis is required hre, not the hysterics of the post above. Of course, the problem these days is that one side of the aisle or the other is willing to resort to hysterics and propoganda which forces the other side the isle to counter. Thus any rational mainstream debate in this country is now impossible.
Posted by: ag | October 31, 2005 at 01:53 PM
the problem these days is that one side of the aisle or the other is willing to resort to hysterics and propoganda
i'd be willing to bet that, in the existence of homo sapiens, there never was a time when that wasn't a true statement.
lies, distortions and hysterics are as human as anything.
Posted by: cleek | October 31, 2005 at 02:00 PM
i'd be willing to bet that, in the existence of homo sapiens, there never was a time when that wasn't a true statement.
lies, distortions and hysterics are as human as anything.
Very true. Only with 24 hour cable news "debate" shows and the Internet it propogates a little faster (for better or worse, I'm not sure)
Posted by: ag | October 31, 2005 at 02:23 PM
The problem with the "strip search" decision is that, as Chertoff warned, Alito was about to effectively discard magistrate review. If an officer wants to know what's within the scope of the warrant, he needs to read *what's on the face of the warrant,* not what he asked the magistrate to put into the warrant but didn't get the magistrate to sign onto.
I just don't like that Alito is so evidently willing to bend backwards to rule for the police no matter what. Too much like our own Rhesa Barksdale down here on the 5th Circuit. When you see *him* rule against the cops, you release a slow whistle & muse, "damn, those boys musta been *harsh* to somebody."
Posted by: Anderson | October 31, 2005 at 03:11 PM
Ya know, looking at Alito makes it very hard to take Miers seriously. Had to be a planned double concession to the wingnut base. Make em feel really powerful.
Bush/Rove understand the prodigal son story.
Posted by: bob mcmanus | October 31, 2005 at 04:31 PM
Dahlia Lithwick on Alito. Not a pretty sight.
Posted by: rilkefan | October 31, 2005 at 07:02 PM
On Reason's Hit and Run blog, Julian Sanchez said this about the Strip Search decision
OK, when libertarians defend state-sponsored strip searches not authorized by a warrant I think the time has come for them to give up and just apply for their GOP membership card.
Here's the decision. All search warrants must specifically identify the places or persons to be searched. Here the authorization only stated that John Doe was to be searched. yet (according to Alito's reasoning) because the police submitted an affidividt saying that they wanted to search the wife and child they could to so regardless of what was authorized by the warrant.
By that reasoning the police could submit an affidavidt asking to search everywhere in New York City, and as long as some part (no matter how limited) of the warrant was granted they would now have carte blanc to search anywhere in the city.
But all this is a little complicated, so sorry John Cole, us dems are going to stick with the whole 'Alito want to strip search 10 year old girls' talking point. If Karl Rove has taught us nothing else it's that all's fair in love and policics
Posted by: Fledermaus | October 31, 2005 at 07:07 PM
It seems to me that anyone who does not understand the purposes of warrants should be removed from office, not turned into a Supreme Court Justice.
Posted by: freelunch | October 31, 2005 at 08:05 PM
5 catholics on the court. Time for Cali to secede. Seeyahs.
Posted by: Troy | November 01, 2005 at 03:53 AM
OK, when libertarians defend state-sponsored strip searches not authorized by a warrant I think the time has come for them to give up and just apply for their GOP membership card.
Since I posted the orginal Julian Sanchez excerpt from Reason's Hit and Run blog, I feel compelled to post Sanchez's clarification. He did orginally state that he disagreed with Alito, but has come out more strongly today:
"I was so busy yesterday trying to deflate the hyperbole in ThinkProgress' talking points that I probably understated the genuine badness of Alito's dissent in Doe v. Groody. I noted at the time that, while I thought TP was exaggerating just how bad the decision was, I nevertheless agreed with the majority. I'll stand by that, but probably should've emphasized more that, hyperbole notwithstanding, Alito's willingness to play it fast and loose with the specific terms of a search warrant really is genuinely troubling."
Posted by: ag | November 01, 2005 at 03:18 PM